The Building Tradesman Newspaper

Friday, November 01, 2013

By Marty Mulcahy, Editor

LANSING – Michigan lawmakers have taken another step toward significantly
reducing licensing regulations for electricians, and reducing overall jobsite
and public safety.

The state Senate on Oct. 17 adopted SB 358, an amendment to the Electrical
Administrative Act of 1956. It would allow workers in mining or manufacturing
operations, as well as independent power producers, to perform electrical work
without holding an electrical license.

“This is a very bad bill,” said Mike Crawford, executive director of the
National Electrical Contractors Association, Michigan Chapter. “We’re concerned
first and foremost with safety. When you have untrained and unqualified people
working around thousands of volts and amps, people are going to get hurt and
killed very quickly.”

The bill moves those industries away from worker electrical licensing, but it
does require the presence of a master electrician on such projects – at some
point. Incredibly, under the bill the master electrician doesn’t even have to be
present while the electrical work is being performed.

The bill states non-licensed personnel can perform the work, and requires
that the “person” (employer?) “employs or engages a licensed master electrician
whom the person designates as responsible” for electrical work “at the property,
business location, plant, factory or facility.” The bill then says that the the
master electrician is responsible for code compliance, obtaining permits,
recording the applicable hours worked by any apprentices on the job, and to file
paperwork with the state indicating compliance with state laws.

“Not only is the licensing requirement gone, but nothing in the bill requires
the master electrician to be on site when the work is done,” said Todd Tennis of
Capitol Services, an IBEW lobbyist. ‘Of course those things are a huge safety
problem, and that’s our main concern. We already have owners cutting corners
when it comes to safety, and this is just another path to more injuries and
death.”

“The question we get all the time, is ‘why are they doing this,’ ” Tennis
said. “Business will say electrical licensing is unnecessary, it’s just plugging
things in. It’s crap, but Republicans are more prone to listen to them than they
would a bunch of money-grubbing union thugs. I’ll tell you, the nonunion don’t
like this bill either, and it’s going to end up being a matter of life or
death.”

Electrocutions are invariably among the top two or three causes of death and
injury for construction workers.

One of the groups pushing the bill is the Michigan Manufacturers
Association. The MMA said it “is advocating for legislative changes to the
Electrical Administrative Act that would remove the unnecessary burden and cost
placed on manufacturers and get the apprenticeship program requirements into a
more reasonable and meaningful structure.”

Crawford said many manufacturers “see the value in using NECA contractors,
and licensed IBEW workers, but some say ‘let’s get it done as cheaply as
possible. Well, that’s a recipe for disaster. You have to look beyond the
economics and see the value of workers working safely and being able to go home
to their family at the end of the day.”

The bill now moves to the state House Regulatory Reforms Committee. If and
when it gets to the full state House of Representatives, assuming all 50 Dems
vote against it, seven Republican votes will need to be peeled off in order to
kill the bill.

The bill also takes licensing requirments away from other crafts. A license
would no longer be required for “an employee of a licensed mechanical contractor
or plumbing contractor who performed work on control wiring circuits and
electrical component parts in existing mechanical systems,” according to a bill
analysis by the Senate Fiscal Agency.

Tennis said “a lot of House Republicans are going to have real concerns about
a bill like this,” adding that building trades workers who are in districts with
a Republican representative need to make their voices heard to kill Senate Bill
358.

If you don’t know who your state representative is, contact your local city
or county clerk’s office and get their phone number. Or go to www.michiganbuildingtrades.org and click on “Our Issues.”
There is a link for an easy way to find and contact your state Senator or state
Representative.

“I’ve been in this (lobbying) business more than 20 years,” Tennis said. “And
one thing I’ve learned is that the other (Republican) side never stops. This
time they want to exempt licensing from industrial. Next time it will be
commercial. Then schools. They use their think-tanks and their publications and
their sole purpose is to cut corners. Cut safety regulations, cut wages. It
never stops.”